DVD Review: The Day We Sang

If, like me you had been relaxing over the Christmas break and were tuned into your TV, you might have been lucky enough to catch a little gem of a programme called The Day We Sang which has now been released on DVD.

Written by national treasure Victoria Wood, The Day We Sang was originally commissioned as a play for the Manchester International festival. It is the story of Enid and Tubby, two adults who as children were involved in the children’s choir recording of Nymphs and Shepherds in the Manchester Free Trade Hall in 1929 and how their lives had changed many years later.

The Day We Sang stars Michael Ball as Tubby and Imelda Staunton as Enid. They bring massive amounts of heart to the heartfelt story of two people facing a second chance in life. Balls portrayal of the over-enthusiastic, always smiling, overly likeable Tubby played against the mousey, frustrated and confidence-lacking Enid is on screen magic and watching the re-connection between their characters through music and the development of their relationship is handled with great care.

Throw in some campy fantasy musical moments that wipe away the grey skies of Manchester in the way that only musicals can do, and you have a lovely, very British story that will entertain you for 90 minutes. You get the impression that it’s all about making fantasy real and that can’t be a bad thing.

The DVD release also features a great behind the scenes documentary hosted by Victoria Wood.